


The Day Trip

by squidgie



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:47:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24967705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidgie/pseuds/squidgie
Summary: Set (with permission) inomgericzimmermann's amazing "The Mechanics of Poetry" universe, as a missing scene to chapter 8, "The Hockey Gays".  You really should read that first.  In this fic, I wondered what would happen if Derek went up to his Grandparent's place after his Grandfather's death, and this is what came up.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Comments: 5
Kudos: 53





	The Day Trip

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Mechanics of Poetry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6957925) by [omgericzimmermann (HMSLusitania)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HMSLusitania/pseuds/omgericzimmermann). 



> Not Betaed

Dex wakes up the next morning and immediately knew Nursey wasn’t in bed with him, because the sheets next to him were cold. He turns over and finds Nursey sitting on the floor next to him, scribbling into his notebook. “Hey,” he said, then leans out for a kiss, which Nursey happily gives him. When he sits up, Nursey hands him a cup of coffee. And it isn’t until the second sip that he realizes Nursey is not only up but is showered and dressed.

Before he can ask what was going on, Nursey leans in for another kiss and says, “Just wanted to say I’ve got to run an errand today. I’ve got an Uber showing up in fifteen.” His voice is quiet, and immediately Dex’s guard goes up.

“Where do you need to go?” Dex asks. But before Nursey responds, he pushes the mountain of blankets off him and swings his legs off the side of the bed. “I can take you.”

Nursey doesn’t meet his eyes at first, but when he does, Dex can still see the lingering sadness that has been there since the news about Nursey’s grandfather. “No, no. You’ve got class today.”

“So do _you_ ,” Dex replies. He scrubs his face with the heels of his hands. “Where’re we going?”

With a sigh, Nursey finally says, “I need to head up to my grandparents’ house up in Waltham. I’ve been putting it off, but…”

Dex is _definitely_ not letting his boyfriend do this alone. Not as the memories of their last few days play through his mind. “Gimme ten?” he says, then kisses Nursey and heads to the bathroom, hoping it’s free.

~*~*~

The short drive is mostly silent, and Nursey’s expression pretty much stays the same until they get closer to Waltham. While Dex didn’t know a lot about nearby Boston, he could tell by the expansive houses, most surrounded by massive, imposing wrought-iron gates, that Waltham was quite an exclusive enclave. “It’s right up here,” Nursey finally says, then directs him to turn onto a well-manicured gravel drive. When he does, he sees an imposing gray wooden structure that looked almost as large as Faber.

“This is their _house_?” The entire thing is so massive that it was almost too hard to comprehend.

“One of them,” Nursey mutters. “Just park here in the front.”

Dex does as he’s told, though he silently worries that his car will be towed – not for just being too old, but for being dinged up as well. “Are you sure?” he asks, ducking his head so that he can take in the grandiose wooden stairs that led to elaborate double-front doors. But Nursey is out of the truck before he offers an answer, and Dex has to jump out of the truck and trot to catch up with him.

Before they reach the front door, it opens, a smartly-dressed man in his late 50s presenting himself. “Good morning, Mr. Nurse. We were not expecting you.” After a moment, a hint of expression crosses his face. “But under the circumstances, I, personally, was hoping that you would stop in.”

“Hello again, Mr. Raymond,” Nurse says, a sorrowful tinge to his voice. “Dex, this is Daniel Raymond, my grandparents attaché. Mr. Raymond, this is my boyfriend, William Poindexter.” Dex reaches out and shakes Daniel’s hand.

A genuine smile finally appears on both Nurse’s and Daniel’s faces, and Nursey is engulfed in a warm hug. “I am so sorry for your loss,” Nursey says as he leans in. When he’s released, he reaches back and takes Dex’s hand. “Daniel has been with my grandparents for longer than I’ve been alive,” he says.

The look of sadness overtakes Daniel’s face. “I _did_ try and contact you when your grandfather fell ill,” he said, “but your parents were in Morocco and couldn’t be reached.”

Though Nursey smiles, Dex can tell it’s forced. He’s cataloged nearly all of Nursey’s expressions over the last couple of years and knows that Nursey must honestly be torn up inside. “Thank you, Dan.”

Daniel clears his throat, then lets them into the house with a sweeping gesture. “Please, please come in.” He retreats to gather something from a side table and offers it to Nurse. “Several of your relatives have already been through, claiming a few of your grandparent’s things-”

“Is Grandmother home?” Nursey asks.

Daniel shakes his head. “Soon after your grandfather was laid to rest, she took a few things and went to Beirut.” Nursey shakes his head a bit. “I’ll be joining her after we close up the estate and sort out everything next week.” 

_Estate_. Dex almost wants to playfully backhand Nursey in the arm and ask why he ever called this a house.

After a moment, Daniel adds, “I’m truly sorry, Derek.” 

They stand like that, silent amongst the opulently covered, but yet sterile, dark walls for far too long. Finally, Daniel holds out a pad of paper and colored dots. “Please feel free to walk about the house and mark what’s not already marked with one of these, and it will be carefully packaged up and sent to you.” Both Nurse and Dex turn their gaze around the room, with most of the walls covered in paintings and carvings mixed in through nooks here and there. Dex is pretty sure that he spots a Pollock at the end of the hallway, but his attention is drawn back to the moment when he hears Nursey say, “No thanks. I just came for one thing.”

Daniel smiles. “Would you like some assistance?”

Nursey shakes his head. “No. I got this,” and then drags Dex down the hallway.

And yes. That was _most definitely_ a Pollock. 

After they walk through what seems like a maze of corridors, they finally reached an imposing dark wooden door that Nursey opens and bounds into what looks like an office with a smile. He drops Dex’s hand only long enough to go to a massive mahogany desk, open a few drawers, and then take a small box out, clutching it to his chest. “Okay, we can go,” he says.

~*~*~

Nursey is _chatty_ on the way back to Samwell. Animated even. But not a word is said about the rectangular, wooden box that he’d gotten from his grandfather’s study. And Dex understands. Nursey has just been through a loss, and everyone works through it their own way. He tries not to think back to their day, but instead, stays in the moment with Nursey.

It isn’t until much later after Dex kisses Nursey goodnight and is teetering on the edge of sleep that Nursey finally brings it up. 

“Hey, Dex?” he asks. 

“Yeah, Nurse?” he asks, his voice groggy. He turns on his side and finds Nurse’s green eyes gazing at him, barely visible in the streetlight that spills in through the window.

Nursey leans over him and grabs something from the side of the bed, then sits up, holding the box that he’d got from his grandparents in his lap. He opens it, and in the darkness, Dex finally makes out a pen. But not just any pen. It looked as if it had some heft, maybe pewter or some other metal, with raised filigree along the sides. He watches as Nursey uncaps it, and realizes it’s a fountain pen. Dex had tried one once; he’d gotten ink everywhere.

“It was my grandfather,” Nursey says quietly.

“Okay.”

After a few minutes of Nursey turning the pen over in his hands and Dex watching him closely, Nursey finally adds, “When I said my parents didn’t know what to do with an artistic kid?” He sighs heavily. “My grandpa did.”

Suddenly the pen Nursey was holding had much more significant meaning than just something to pay bills with. Dex scooches closer, pulling Nursey to him so Nursey can rest his head on Dex’s chest. He drops a kiss on the top of Nursey’s head. “He did?” Dex finally asks.

“Yeah,” Nursey says, his voice quiet. “When I was really young and spent summers with my grandparents, it was Grandpa who encouraged me to take up writing, because I always made up stories to tell him. And he listened. I mean, _really_ listened, not like my parents. And when I was old enough, he taught me how to write,” he held his pen out, “with _this_ pen.” He put the pen back in the case. “It was his favorite.” He looked up at Dex, a tear on his face. “He was _my_ favorite.”

Dex drops another kiss to Nursey’s head, then pulls him close. “Tell me about him,” he says. And then he pulls the blankets up close and listens as Nursey talks about the love of his grandfather.


End file.
